Introducing Modernism

Synopsis

What is modernism? Why did it begin and how long did it last? How does it relate to postmodernism? Replies to these questions have often been vague or confusing, but in this brilliant new book Chris Rodriques provides an accessible introduction to this crucial and perplexing formation of 20th-century culture. Modernism is usually thought of as a radical easthetic transformation, a shock wave of innovations hitting art, architecture, music, cinema and literature. This book explores the avant-garde milieu of Picasso, Joyce, Schoenberg and other modern masters, but it also delves deeper, interpreting modernism as a set of responses to the global phenomenon of modernity itself - responses that are often in conflict with each other, and that encompass revolutionary advances in technology, industry and science, set against a 20th-century background of mass social and political upheavals. Illustrator Chris Garratt adds his irreverent humour to make this a stimulating account of the central issues of modernism.